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| Chinese martial arts (Wushu) |
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| Qinggong | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 輕功 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 轻功 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | lightness skill | ||||||||||||||||
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Qinggong (ching-kung) is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial arts. [1] One way of training is to run up a slightly inclined ramp,gradually increasing the steepness of the incline until it is vertical. [2]
The characters used for this skill are 輕功,where the meaning of the first character is 'light [in weight];easy;soft;gentle' and the second means 'achievement;effort;skill;results'. It is sometimes translated as 'lightness skill'. [3]
The use of qinggong has been exaggerated in wuxia fiction,in which martial artists have the ability to move swiftly and lightly at superhuman speed,and perform gravity-defying moves such as running on water surfaces,traversing across rooftops,and even balancing on a stalk of grass. [4] In some wuxia and martial arts films,qinggong stunts are simulated by actors and stunt performers suspending themselves from wires,earning the name of "wire fu". [5]
Qinggong was taught at the Peking Opera School in the 20th century. The school's most notable students are the Seven Little Fortunes,including Sammo Hung and most famously Jackie Chan,providing a basis for their acrobatic stunt work in Hong Kong action cinema. In turn,this influenced the development of parkour in France. [6] [7]
In general,kung fu or kungfu refers to the Chinese martial arts also called quanfa. In China,it refers to any study,learning,or practice that requires patience,energy,and time to complete. In its original meaning,kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice,not necessarily martial arts. The literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" in Mandarin would be 中國武術zhōngguówǔshù.
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value,and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action,such as stuntwork,chases,and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films,wuxia,karate films,and martial arts action comedy films,while related genres include gun fu,jidaigeki and samurai films.
Neijia is the collective name for the internal Chinese martial arts. It relates to those martial arts occupied with spiritual,mental or qi-related aspects,as opposed to an "external" approach focused on physiological aspects. The distinction dates to the 17th century,but its modern application is due to publications by Sun Lutang,dating to the period of 1915 to 1928. Neijin is developed by using neigong or "internal changes",contrasted with waigong or "external exercises".
Wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature,its popularity has caused it to be adapted for such diverse art forms as Chinese opera,manhua,television dramas,films,and video games. It forms part of popular culture in many Chinese-speaking communities around the world. According to Hong Kong film director,producer,and movie writer Ronny Yu,wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies.
Wing Chun (Cantonese) or Yongchun (Mandarin) is a concept-based martial art,a form of Southern Chinese kung fu,and a close-quarters system of self-defense. It is a martial arts style characterized by its focus on close-quarters hand-to-hand combat,rapid-fire punches,and straightforward efficiency. It has a philosophy that emphasizes capturing and sticking to an opponent's centerline. This is accomplished using simultaneous attack and defense,tactile sensitivity,and using an opponent's force against them.
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences,fights,shootouts,explosions,and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as David Bordwell suggested they were films that favor spectacle to storytelling,others such as Goeff King stated they allow the scenes of spectacle to be attuned to story telling. Action films are often hybrid with other genres,mixing into various forms ranging to comedies,science fiction films,and horror films.
A stunt is an unusual,difficult,dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill,performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience,as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer-generated imagery special effects,these depictions were limited to the use of models,false perspective and other in-camera effects,unless the creator could find someone willing to carry them out,even such dangerous acts as jumping from car to car in motion or hanging from the edge of a skyscraper:the stunt performer or stunt double.
Parkour is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible,without assisting equipment and often while performing feats of acrobatics. With roots in military obstacle course training and martial arts,parkour includes flipping,running,climbing,swinging,vaulting,jumping,plyometrics,rolling,and quadrupedal movement—whatever is suitable for a given situation. Parkour is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others,and is usually carried out in urban spaces,though it can be done anywhere. It involves seeing one's environment in a new way,and envisioning the potential for navigating it by movement around,across,through,over and under its features.
Chinese martial arts,often called by the umbrella terms kung fu,kuoshu or wushu,are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits,identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include Shaolinquan (少林拳) physical exercises involving All Other Animals (五形) mimicry or training methods inspired by Old Chinese philosophies,religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called internal,while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called external. Geographical associations,as in northern and southern,is another popular classification method.
The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple is a lost Chinese silent film serial directed by Zhang Shichuan,widely considered to be the founding father of Chinese cinema. The film is adapted from the novel The Tale of the Extraordinary Swordsman.
Gun fu,a portmanteau of gun and kung fu,is a style of sophisticated close-quarters gunfight resembling a martial arts combat that combines firearms with hand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen in Hong Kong action cinema,and in American action films influenced by it.
Chopsocky is a colloquial term for martial arts films and kung fu films made primarily by Hong Kong action cinema between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety following the explosion of films in the genre released in 1973 in the U.S. after the success of Five Fingers of Death. The word is a play on chop suey,combining "chop" and "sock".
Wire fu is an element or style of Hong Kong action cinema used in fight scenes. It is a combination of two terms:"wire work" and "kung fu".
Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 martial arts action comedy film directed,produced and co-written by Stephen Chow,who also stars in the leading role,alongside Huang Shengyi,Yuen Wah,Yuen Qiu,Danny Chan Kwok-kwan and Leung Siu-lung in prominent roles. The story revolves around a murderous neighbourhood gang,a poor village with unlikely heroes and an aspiring gangster's fierce journey to find his true self. The martial arts choreography is supervised by Yuen Woo-ping.
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera,storytelling and aesthetic traditions,which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques,to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. In turn,Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions,from the 1970s onwards.
David Nicolas Williams Belle is a French actor,film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour,coining it based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle.
Neigong,also spelled nei kung,neigung,or nae gong,refers to a series of internal changes that a practitioner goes through when following the path to Dao,and these changes may be achieved through practices including qigong or tai chi. Neigong is also associated with xingyi quan.
Kung fu film is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in wuxia,a related martial arts genre that uses historical settings based on ancient China. Swordplay is also less common in kung-fu films than in wuxia and fighting is done through unarmed combat.
Professional schools for Chinese opera,known as keban,existed in China from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to the 20th century. Formerly attached to performing troupes,many keban became independent boarding schools by the late 19th century.
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